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Shoaib Akhtar did not hold back as he finally responded to Mohammed Hafeez’ take on how the 90s cricketers from Pakistan did not leave a legacy.
Shoaib Akhtar (L) and Mohammed Hafeez (R) – Screengrab
The former Pakistan cricketer, Shoaib Akhtar, hit back against Mohammed Hafeez, who mentioned that the cricketers from the 1990s had left no legacy for the next generation of players for the country.
Hafeez had mentioned this during the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 campaign, where Pakistan ended their campaign in disastrous fashion, remaining winless in the group stage. They suffered crushing defeats to New Zealand and Pakistan whilst the game against Bangladesh ended in a washout.
“I’m a big admirer of the cricketers from the 1990s, but when we talk about legacy, they didn’t bring home an ICC trophy. They were part of the World Cups in 1996, 1999, and 2003, and despite our performances, we lost each time. We only made it to the 1999 final, and that loss was quite heavy,” Hafeez had mentioned during the Champions Trophy 2025 campaign.
Akhtar did not respond at the time, but he hit back much later during the PSL post-match show, where he delivered a fierce reply.
“There were many times when Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis won us matches and series. Just in front of me, the two have won at least 60 matches together alone. I just remembered the ’90s ke launde’ statement. Sorry,” Akhtar said.
“That guy (Hafeez) is telling Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, ‘Sir, you left no legacy.’ Then, who left a legacy? You?” Akhtar added.
Pakistan cricket seems to be in a declining state where, despite having star names like Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and many more, the side has struggled to pick up wins in the big tournaments.
In fact, their lack of performance has been on display well before the Champions Trophy as well. They did not make it out of the group stages in the T20 World Cup held in the USA and the West Indies, and they also failed to make it to the knockout stages in the 2023 ODI World Cup, showcasing that they have not been able to build a championship-winning squad.
In addition, the chopping and changing of management has also taken the spotlight, which goes to show just how much of difficult a position Pakistan cricket is in at the moment.
